Rear leg Tripawd Doodle Murphy benefits from free canine rehab therapy thanks to Tripawds Foundation Rehab Grant #151. The free evaluation and rehab exercises help Murphy stay strong and fit. Read his story, and learn how you can get a free veterinary rehab evaluation for your dog or cat.
Yes! Tri-kitties qualify for free feline rehab too. See all Tripawds who have received free rehab sessions thanks to your support.
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Murphy is a mini Bernedoodle. We rescued him from a farm in Pennsylvania after he was born without part of his back left leg. He couldn’t use this leg to walk, bear weight, etc. Therefore, the rescue vet decided to amputate the leg at 9 weeks old. As a result, this allowed him to learn everything on 3 legs. He came home shortly after and adjusted very well as a Tripawd Doodle. Most people don’t even realize he is missing a leg when they first meet him.
Once he was about 2 ½ years old, his puppy energy started to fade a bit. That’s when we noticed he would start to drag his back leg, avoid slippery floors. He was also less confident with stairs if he got too tired. Murphy went to see Dr. Magilton at Whole Animal Gym (WAG) in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. She taught us many beginner at-home exercises to practice that can help him strengthen and maintain better mobility. Murphy now practices his rehab exercises at home:
- Weaving through agility poles – ”Figure-8” exercises,
- The “cookie stretch elevated stand” exercise, and
- Exercise for hind leg amputees called “hind limb on box”.
Lessons Learned with Canine Rehab
We also learned additional training to control Murphy’s movements. These include “down to stand”, “walking backward”, “sideways over obstacles”, and “army crawl”. Incorporating these activities into his routine 4-5 days a week will help Tripawd Doodle Murphy control and manipulate each leg individually and to stretch and strengthen supporting muscles. Along with the exercises, we were given a set of Passive Range of Motion stretches. This training helps move each major joint in controlled motions every day and it was also recommended to start giving Murphy a supplement to help improve his joint health and decrease inflammation.
Rehab Helps Tripawd Doodle Murphy for Life
Being a Tripawd Doodle is a life-long situation for Murphy. Therefore, we will also consider further treatment if he becomes more uncomfortable or his mobility decreases over time. The doctor recommended in-office physical therapy sessions, massages, laser therapy, and/or use of the water treadmill in the future.
As soon as we knew we would be adopting Murphy we have tried to do research on the best things we can do for him, both as a Tripawd and a growing puppy. As a result, this is how we came across the Tripawds community and the Maggie Moo Fund. We were familiar with some of the exercises we were shown at his appointment from other resources. However, I think the thing we learned most was that he has a lot of muscle tension in his back. This could be causing some of his discomfort.
We thought that when he would get too tired and start to walk a little hunched or not want to go on slippery floors that his back leg was just overtired. But we learned that back massages and helping relieve some of his muscle tension in his back could help alleviate some of that discomfort and difficulty as well.
We are very grateful for all the advice and help that we have received in helping Tripawd Doodle Murphy live a happy and healthy life!
~ Heather and Murphy